Self-Care, Health, and Wellbeing

When you’re trying to quit gambling or overcome gambling harm, it’s critical to take care of yourself.

Prioritising yourself means that you’re looking out for yourself – it doesn’t make you selfish. Taking care of yourself is important in helping you reach your goals. It filters out into all other areas of your life, including your relationships, your career or studies, and your mental and physical health.

Our experts share their advice and strategies for taking care of yourself, particularly while trying to change your gambling habits or to quit gambling.

Self-Care Tips

Here are some tips for actions that people who changed their gambling found helpful.

Think about how your money could be better spent
Accept that gambling needs to change
Remind yourself of negative consequences of gambling
Compare costs and benefits of continuing to gamble
Remind yourself of the positive consequences of not gambling
Remind yourself that sometimes people win… but the system is designed for you to lose
Avoid chasing losses
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Engage in an activity that gives you a feeling of achievement
Calculate the money and time spent gambling
Remind yourself that you don’t need to gamble
Engage in regular exercise
Identify inaccurate thoughts about gambling or winning
Re-establish trust and belief in yourself
Plan ahead and limit the amount of money you carry
Make a resolution to change your gambling
Monitor how your emotions relate to gambling
Engage in a new form of entertainment
Keep busy to avoid thinking about or engaging in gambling
Plan ahead and leave credit cards and non-essential cash at home
Keep track of money by setting up a budget and tracking spending
Distract yourself or do something else until the urge to gamble passes
Monitor for signs that gambling is becoming a problem
Ensure your physical health needs are met
Don’t increase or change the bet amount
Avoid gambling when feeling down, depressed, or vulnerable
Take it easy on yourself or take it slow
Read information on how gambling works